Savior
by ExtremeWriter
Summary: Sharpay Evans is the happiest girl alive, right? WRONG! Sharpay and Troy have been paired up for a science project, and Troy is about to learn a whole lot about Sharpay's life at home. The question is, can he make her happy again? TROYPAY
1. Chapter 1

"Sharpay, it's time for breakfast! Hurry up!" Mrs. Evans called her daughter downstairs late Saturday morning.

"Aww, mom!" But Sharpay reluctantly got up and dressed. She looked in the mirror, figuring she could do her hair and makeup later.

Of course, Ryan already looked fresh and nice. Sharpay scowled when Ryan giggled at her frizzy hair.

"Not all of us are morning people, Ryan," Sharpay said, gritting her teeth.

"Okay, okay, truce!" Ryan said. He hated it when his sister lost her temper. Sharpay grabbed a bagel and plopped herself on a chair.

"So guys, did you get your science tests back yesterday?" Mr. Evans asked.

"Oh, not me" Ryan said. Sharpay knew that a brag was on its way. She was right.

"Well, where is it, then?"

"On the wall with the rest of the A-pluses."

"That's great, Ryan!" Mrs. Evans exclaimed. "Sharpay, sweetie, what did you get on your test?"

Sharpay shrugged. "I got a C-." She was somewhat proud of it. It was the highest grade she had gotten all semester.

Mr. Evans smiled. "A C-minus? That's very good Sharpay!"

_Yeah, it's good, but Ryan's test is _great, she thought with contempt. Sharpay had been jealous of her twin for a very long time. She knew her parents loved her, but they were way more proud of her brother. Sharpay knew that if she told her parents how she felt, they would find the best counselor in town and take her there as soon as possible. The only one who knew about her jealousy was Ryan himself, and he just took advantage of it.

"So what are everyone's plans for today?" Mrs. Evans asked. "As for me, I'm cleaning my room, and then, Sharpay, you and I are going to go shopping together! Won't that be fun?" she squealed. Ryan fell out of his chair laughing.

Sharpay was horrified. "You're kidding," she said. As much as she sincerely wanted to go shopping with her mom, she could never live it down if anyone saw her.

"I think I'm going to pass, mom. I have an English test on Tuesday that I have to study for."

Mrs. Evans looked at Ryan in disbelief. "Ryan, is this true?" she asked.

"No, it's not. We have English together."

"Alright, Sharpay. You're going shopping with me! Where would you like to go, dear?"

"I don't know. Let me get my hair done first, and then I'll decide, okay?"

"Okay, munchkin."

X-x-x-x-X

As she brushed and styled her hair, she thought about a place obscure enough where no one would see her. She could always go somewhere like Gap or Target. No one she knew hung out at those stores.

As she was about to put on her makeup, she stopped. She thought she might be able to go unrecognized if she didn't wear makeup. She found it pretty smart. She looked in the mirror to see how she was.

_Uggh,_ she thought. _I look like a hideous freak without my makeup, yet I'm _still _recognizable! Maybe I could go as far as to mess up my hair a little bit._ She undid her bun and shook her hair out until it looked just a tad sloppy, but just a tad. "Perfect," she said.

As she went downstairs, her mom said, "Hi, sweetheart. I'll be ready in a minute. Oh, um, dear, don't you think you should fix your hair a little bit before we go?"

"Aww, mom! I'll be fine!" Sharpay rolled her eyes. Why did she, of all people, have to get the most overprotective mother on the face of the Earth?

A/N: I totally apologize for both the shortness in this chapter and the slightly late upload. I had it all written this morning, but I didn't get to upload it until just now, and I couldn't really figure out how exactly to break my chapters up, so I sort of came up with this arrangement. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I promise that the next one will be longer. Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

As Sharpay got in the car, she made a list of things she would rather be doing to pass the time.

_Number one, _she thought. _Making the lives of everyone in the Scholastic club miserable. _

"Sharpay, how is school going?" Mrs. Evans asked, trying her best to start a friendly conversation in the silent car.

"School? Oh, school's good." Sharpay said, absentmindedly.

_Number two: Eating a large gourmet meal. _

"Is it hard?" Mrs. Evans asked. Sharpay sighed. She wondered why her mother had to get so personal.

"School's fine. Awfully boring, but fine." She smiled. "But then, there's so much more to school than just grades. In fact, there's so much more to life than grades!" she added, more to herself, because she knew her mother would disagree.

_Number three: Making Ryan's life miserable. _

"So, have you been keeping up with your acting?" her mom asked. Sharpay grinned. She knew that if there was one thing she had in common with her family, it was their passion for acting.

"Acting's been great!" Sharpay said enthusiastically. "I got the lead in the spring musical and I'm going to be with Ryan." Sharpay smiled. It felt great to have beaten Gabriella for the first time since she came to East High. She wished Gabriella were a worse sport, but when the cast list was posted, she was really nice. It drove Sharpay crazy. But she was so happy about getting the lead girl again that she let it go.

_Number four: Flirting with Troy Bolton. _

Mrs. Evans sighed dreamily. "This is so much fun! Isn't this fun, Sharpay? We should do this more often, don't you think?"

Sharpay sighed. "Mom, we aren't even at the store yet! Don't you want to wait until we get into the store to decide if we're having fun or not?" she snapped. When her mother didn't respond for a few moments, Sharpay was scared that she had really upset her. But luckily, her mother was just thinking.

"You're right, Sharpay. After all, our trip has barely begun!" she said cheerily. Sharpay moaned and added a final thing to her list. "Number five," she said to herself. "Being anywhere but here." Sharpay was satisfied with her list.

But at the same time, way, way deep down, she was thrilled to finally get to spend some time with her mother. And it was the first time they spent together where her mother didn't lecture her that she should be doing better in school. Sharpay guessed that the fact that she had accepted to go on the trip was making her mother happy. Sharpay was annoyed at herself for that. She didn't want to lose her reputation of the meanest girl in school! That would be scarier than anything.

X-x-x-x-X

A few minutes later, Sharpay and her mom were standing in the middle of a GAP store. Sharpay's mother grabbed her daughter's hand. Sharpay swatted it away. "Mom!" she hissed. "I'm sixteen years old, alright? You don't have to hold my hand!

"Oh, sorry, Sharpay." She patted her daughter's hand. Sharpay breathed a sigh of relief; happy her mom didn't call her "pumpkin pie", which was her pet name for her daughter ten years ago.

Luckily, her mother did let Sharpay stray from her, as long as she didn't go past the bench some feet away from her, and stayed within her mother's sight. Then she left.

Sharpay scowled. She hated having to have boundaries-and small ones, for that matter-but at least she wouldn't have to be seen with her mother. Then, people she didn't know couldn't tease her.

Of course, Sharpay didn't want to buy anything, so she just hung around and brushed her hair. It took a long time to make it look nice again.

As she was about to dig into her bag for some makeup, she spotted a brown head on the other side of the clothing rack. _Troy! _She thought in alarm. What was he doing in a store like GAP?

Desperate for a way out, she ducked behind a little girl. How childish! But still, she was too nervous to think straight. Suddenly, the little girl turned around. "What are you doing, lady?"

Sharpay blushed. "First off, I'm sixteen. I'm not a lady. And second of all, I'm hiding."

"Hiding from your problems doesn't solve them," the girl said in a mother-like tone. Sharpay rolled her eyes.

"Look, I don't need counseling, little girl! What I need is to stop the most unpopular boy at school from seeing me!" She said, panicked. Troy was coming closer. Sharpay ditched the little girl and bent under a circle of clothes. She felt so humiliated. But not as humiliated as she was about to be.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" The person with the brown hair said. "It's against the rules to hide in there, even if you are pretending you're in a teepee."

Sharpay looked up. The person with the brown hair wasn't Troy after all! She was too relieved to be embarrassed. She got up out of the circular rack and dusted herself off.

"That's better," The man said. His name tag said, "Hi, I'm Phil!" She figured he worked at the store. "Make sure to follow the rules next time!" He called before running off.

"Will, do, Phil," Sharpay said, but of course Phil didn't hear him.

Sharpay sighed, relaxed. Now that she knew that Troy wasn't in the store, she smiled and dug through her bag. She had barely finished applying her lipstick when she was interrupted again. Someone tapped on her shoulder. Praying it wasn't Phil telling her something like, "You're not allowed to put on makeup in the store," she turned around. To her utter shock, she was standing face-to-face with Troy-for real this time!

"Troy? What are you doing at a store like this?" Sharpay asked incredulously.

"I was buying a gift for Gabriella. Her birthday's coming up, you know?" Troy said.

Sharpay lowered her voice and whispered, "Look, I'm here on a shopping date with my mom, alright? You have to promise me that you won't tell a soul about our meeting. Promise?"

"Sharpay, look-" Troy began. But Mrs. Evans interrupted him.

"Sharpay, time to go!" her mother said. Sharpay was glad that her mother had better sense than to yell halfway across the room. She yelled from all the way across the room. Two girls of about thirteen or fourteen who were passing by looked at each other and snickered. Sharpay growled at them, which made them laugh harder.

"Look, I have to go now," Sharpay said, grabbing onto Troy's shirt. "And if you tell one person about this, you are so past dead!" She dropped him, and ran off to her mother.

"Oh, you didn't buy anything?" Mrs. Evans asked. Sharpay shook her head.

"Oh, that's too bad," Sharpay's mother replied. "I had a shopping spree myself."

Sharpay raised her eyebrows. Only her mom could have a shopping spree at GAP.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter! And thanks a million to xXNotxLikexThatXx, xamyxjx, and of course mzdarkstar! You guys rock:D


	3. Chapter 3

The next day at school, Sharpay kept her guard, just in case anyone else she knew caught her shopping at the mall at GAP with her mom. Her first class was history. She knew all the other idiots in her class were to busy playing video games and whatnot to go shopping. However, the words her teacher, Mr. Peterson, said when she stepped in the classroom dampened her spirits.

"Class, please welcome Troy Bolton, who has just switched to this class. Troy, why don't you take a seat next to Miss Evans?" He did.

Sharpay was a mix between horrified and infuriated. Why, on the one day after she was caught by her crush humiliated, did he have to be transferred to her history class?

"As you all know, Thanksgiving is coming up soon. So all this month, we'll be studying Pilgrims." The class responded with loud groans.

"Oh, come on, it's not that boring!" Mr. Peterson exclaimed.

"Yeah, it is!" a boy in the back of the room shouted.

"David's right!" a girl shouted. "We study Pilgrims every year! Can't we have a little variety?"

Allison, the teacher's pet, said, "Shut up, Bobby! Even if we learn about the same thing each year, we learn more advanced concepts!"

Suddenly, everyone's mood changed. The boys were the ones who slacked off the most, but they all had a crush on Allison, and she was very good at changing people's minds.

Troy leaned over to Sharpay and whispered, "Is your class always this crazy?"

Sharpay nodded. "Trust me, it gets much worse on most days." But then she suddenly remembered what had happened yesterday. She scooted her chair away from him.

"Allison, thank you for bringing the class in order again." Mr. Peterson smiled.

Allison gave a little smirk. "My pleasure." She smoothed her skirt. Troy looked at her. He already hated Allison, and the rest of the class. He wondered why he was transferred.

"Now class, open your textbooks to page sixty-eight. Allison, would you like to read the first three paragraphs?" Mr. Peterson asked, because he had learned long ago that he couldn't convince anyone else to read.

"Yes, I would. In 1620…"

Sharpay didn't listen to Allison, nor did she open her textbook. She knew there would be a project coming up, as there always was when they started a new section, and she knew that Mr. Peterson always paired his students with the person they were sitting next to. That's what worried her. But then again, there was a chance that she could be paired with Dylan, who sat on her other side. She counted the desks by twos, which was tricky, because Mr. Peterson had everyone sit in a circle. She began to count, starting from the left of Mr. Peterson's desk. Mark and Steve, Danny and Martha, Brett and Kelsi…nope, Dylan would be with Allison, which meant Sharpay would be with Troy. She gulped.

Once Allison finished reading, Mr. Peterson spoke again. "Thank you Allison. Now, for this month's project, you guys will build a diorama of The Mayflower. The catch is, you may only use cardboard, paint, staples, and the hunks of wood I will pass out to you. You have two weeks, so work diligently! Now, let's see who you guys will have as partners…"

Sharpay was, in fact, paired with Troy. Naturally, she got quite distinctive stares, as everyone knew how much Sharpay loved him. They blushed.

Sharpay slouched and stared at the clock. There was ten minutes of class left. She tried to think of what she could do to pass the time. Luckily, David was able to assist her there.

"Mr. Peterson, I don't want to be with Patty!" he said loudly. Everyone watched Patty's face scrunch up. They all knew what a crybaby she was.

"It's not fair!" she sobbed. "Nobody likes me!"

"That's because you're such a baby," Bobby muttered under his breath. Luckily, he stayed unheard.

"I don't care if you like Patty or not. You're working with her, and that's that."

_Well, there go my plans of asking for a new partner, _Sharpay thought. She sighed.

Troy rubbed his head. He was partnered with Sharpay for an upcoming project, his class consisted of a very loud boy named David, a crybaby named Patty, and worst of all, a teacher's pet named Allison. Oh well, he thought. At least Kelsi and Martha were sane.

"Alright, class. Read pages 70-75 for homework tonight, and don't forget to start on your dioramas!"

Troy sighed. At least the homework wasn't too tough. Just average.

X-x-x-x-X

At lunch that day, Troy sat next to Chad. "So, dude! How's your new history class? I hear you're with Sharpay now," He let out a slight smirk.

"How supportive of you," Troy snapped. "You can just imagine what that's like. Did I mention I got paired with her for a project?"

"Yeah, Kelsi told me," Chad nodded sympathetically. "Ouch. So, did she spend the whole class time trying to flirt with you?"

"Actually, no," Troy said.

Chad frowned. "Well, why not?"

Troy stopped. He promised Sharpay that he wouldn't tell anyone that they met, and he knew that Chad especially would love any chance to humiliate the Ice Princess.

"Hi, Troy. New history class, I heard?" Gabriella sat down next to him.

Troy nodded weakly. "I miss you, that's for sure. How was your day?"

"My day was alright. I got A's on all the tests I got back today." As Gabriella put her straw in her milk, Chad snickered. Troy caught his eye and slashed hid neck with his hand. Chad stopped immediately.

"I got paired with Sharpay on our next project." Troy said.

"Aww, Troy! That's terrible! Did she go flirt-crazy?" Gabriella asked.

Troy scowled. No one liked to be asked the same question twice, especially one that they didn't want to answer. "Because she wasn't. She was acting weird around me, like she didn't want to be with me, but I don't know why," Troy said, even though he did. Chad and Gabriella could see that.

"Come on, Troy. What happened?" Gabriella coaxed.

Troy lowered his voice. "Look, I'm not supposed to talk about it, alright? Let's just say that I caught her doing something embarrassing and promised not to tell. Let's leave it at that, alright?" Gabriella nodded obediently.

"I understand," Gabriella said. She was still improving her friendship with Sharpay.

"Me too," Chad said reluctantly. He found it rather unfair that he couldn't torture the person who tortured him so brutally. Troy had been starting to become a lot nicer and quieter ever since he started dating Gabriella, It was driving him crazy!

"Chad…" Troy gave his best friend a warning look.

Chad sighed. "Okay, fine. I won't tell anyone. I don't even know what happened, anyway."

X-x-x-x-X

Dinner at the Evans' house was an enjoyable one. Mr. Evans prepared a barbecue, and it was all perfect. There were hot dogs, hamburgers, shish-ka-bobs, corn on the cob, and everything else that usually went with a barbecue. There were also two bottles of ketchup and mustard each.

"Hey, dad. What's with all the food?" Sharpay asked as she walked through the door.

"Mrs. Bolton turned forty-two today," Mrs. Evans replied. I invited the Boltons and the Montezes over for dinner! Won't that be fun?"

"It'll be as much fun as wearing a fleece jacket in the middle of July," she muttered.

"What did you say, sweetheart?" Mrs. Evans asked.

"Oh, nothing," Sharpay said innocently. She went upstairs and flopped on her bed.

She wondered if Troy would actually tell Gabriella what happened. Sharpay was glad that her mom hadn't invited the Danforths, Neilsons, or the McKessies over as well. Sharpay was not in the mood to be around her fellow classmates.


	4. Chapter 4

_Ding-dong!_

At six-o'-clock that evening, the Boltons rang the Evans' doorbell.

"Ryan, could you get that?" asked Mr. Evans, who was busy on the grill.

"Sure thing, dad!" Ryan answered the door.

"Hey, Troy!" Ryan said. They were great friends then. "How are you?"

"I'm great Ryan. Have you been having a good life?" Ryan nodded.

"Well, the food's going to be ready in about ten minutes. You can say hi to my sister, if you want." Ryan gave Troy a knowing look. He lowered his voice. "So, how many people have you told?" he asked.

"I didn't tell anyone," Troy said angrily. Was he the only one at East High who felt Sharpay deserved some credit? "Hey, you got a new basketball hop!" Troy said, eager to change the subject."

"One on one?" Ryan offered. He took a basketball out from his garage.

"Bring it on!" Troy said. He was just glad to get his mind off of Sharpay. The boys played basketball until Gabriella came.

When the doorbell rang, Sharpay came own from her room to answer it. She opened it and looked at the curly, dark-haired girl in front of her. "Hi, Gabriella," she said, being as friendly as she could. She and Gabriella had been working hard to improve their friendship over the past couple of months, and Sharpay almost liked her, but at the moment, she was too worried that Gabriella knew her secret.

"Hey, why don't you girls go up to Sharpay's room and play for awhile?" Mrs. Evans suggested. Sharpay and Gabriella exchanged glances.

Sharpay cleared her throat. "Uh, Mom, we're sixteen. Sixteen-year-old girls don't 'play'."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Mrs. Evans said, looking dejected. Sharpay rolled her eyes and took Gabriella up to her room nonetheless.

"I really like your mom," Gabriella said sincerely. "Why are you so mean to her?"

"Why am I so mean to her? What do you mean? She's humiliating!"

Gabriella sighed. "Ugh, trust me. My mom is so much more embarrassing than that."

"Does your mother show your baby pictures to every single person that comes over?" Sharpay asked.

"No, but I hate going shopping with her. She's always so overprotective!"

A shock went through Sharpay's body. Did Gabriella know?

"Come on, it can't be as bad as mine!" Sharpay insisted. She didn't want to get this information so she could later use it against Gabriella; she sincerely liked having a friend-a real friend that she could trust, not a Sharpayette.

"Well, let's see." Gabriella began to list all the embarrassing things her mother had done to her. "She holds my hand when we cross the street, yells 'Sugarplum, come back!' whenever I stray an inch from her terribly small boundaries, and always holds up underwear and bras, publicly asking me what I think of them."

Sharpay was getting really worried now. Those were all things that her mother did to her on their shopping trip the day before. So she asked, because she just had to know, "What did Troy tell you?"

Gabriella was startled. "What?"

"I said, what did Troy tell you at lunch today? I know I heard my name, missy!" Sharpay grabbed onto her shirt.

Gabriella bit her lip. She took a deep breath, looked into Sharpay's eye, and said, "Alright, fine. Troy did say that you two had an awkward meeting yesterday. But I swear, that's all he told me!"

"Okay, I trust you." Sharpay nodded. "But he will definitely get an earful after dinner tonight," Sharpay growled. As if on cue, Sharpay's mother called them down to dinner.

X-x-x-x-X

As Sharpay chewed away at her corn on the cob, she glared at Troy. Troy knew why he was glaring at her and winced. Gabriella bit her lip. Ryan smirked. The adults were all confused.

In an attempt to start a conversation, Jack said, "So, Troy and the guys made it to the championship! Isn't that exciting?" All the parents nodded in agreement.

Troy scowled, and Gabriella patted his arm gently. She remembered the time, not long after they first met, where they were talking in the roof garden, and Troy was talking about how much he hated the pressure of being the coach's son.

Just then, Mrs. Evans spoke up. "Well, my Sharpay is going to be the lead girl in a county-wide play!" she bragged.

Sharpay was awfully shocked about that. Her mother wasn't the type to brag. And furthermore, it wasn't even true! She and Troy exchanged glances.

"Well, if Troy wins, he could get an easy college scholarship!" Mr. Bolton shot back, desperate to win this bragging fest. Troy made a horrible face when his father said that "he" was going to win, and not the Wildcats. He just hated the pressure.

"Well, the play has a real movie director coming!" Sharpay's mother retorted. She smirked, triumphant over her victory. That is, until Jack spoke up.

"Alright, I have two questions for you, ma'am. First, what is the name of the play? And second, what's the name of the famous movie director?" Troy's dad said snootily.

Sharpay and Ryan exchanged glances. Both appeared to be terribly amused.

"Oh, the play? It's um," Mrs. Evans got really nervous. Ryan and his father raised their eyebrows.

"We're waiting," Mr. Bolton said in a singsong voice.

Mrs. Evans sighed. "Okay, so she's not in a county-wide play. But she will be in one someday, won't you, my darling?"

Sharpay just gritted her teeth. Now she was really glad that Chad wasn't there.

Mr. Evans could sense the tension in all of the teens, as well as the adults, so he went to get the burgers and hot dogs.

X-x-x-x-X

During the rest of dinner, Sharpay was deep in thought, trying to figure out how to keep Troy from telling the whole school. Also, in the back of her mind, she was trying to come up with a good prank to pull on Ryan for April Fool's Day. The problem was, her twin was always one step ahead of her, so it was close to impossible to prank him.

Yes, Ryan was always one step ahead of her, and that night was no exception. Leaning towards Sharpay, he whispered, "So, Sharpay, April Fool's Day is coming up, huh?"

Sharpay nodded. "And?"

"Have you been working on your plans?" he asked knowingly. Every year, they both set to work on the most elaborate plans they could think of. And, of course, they always snuck into each other's rooms to find the other's plans and sabotage them, but every year, Ryan always won the prank wars no matter what.

"Yeah, I've been working on them. Have you been working on yours?" Sharpay asked casually.

"Nope, I haven't started yet," Ryan said just as casually. "I've been working on the English paper that's due on Monday."

Sharpay rolled her eyes. It was so like Ryan to put school first. She didn't understand why he still won every year.

_He's bluffing,_ Sharpay thought. _He thinks he can fool me by hiding the plans! Well, I'll show him!_ She smirked.

"What's so funny, Sharpay?" Mrs. Montez asked.

Oh, nothing!" Sharpay blushed, snapping out of her daydream. She began to think of a way to sneak up to Ryan's room without being noticed.

Troy heard the whole conversation. The Boltons had been friends with the Evans' for a long time, so he knew about the twins' yearly prank battles from eavesdropping on their parents' conversations. (Apparently, spring was the worst time of the year for the Evans' and they were always complaining about how constantly their children argued. Troy was pretty surprised at that, considering the two were like best friends at school.)Troy had smiled when Ryan first told him his prank: no prank at all. It was the most genius thing Troy had ever heard of. To top it off, Ryan had planned to write up a lame whoopee cushion prank to set her off. Now, he wasn't so sure that Sharpay deserved that. She was a nice girl deep down, and she clearly had a lot of issues. He had been more conscious about doing the right thing since he started going out with Gabriella.

Sharpay excused herself to the restroom, and then darted into Ryan's room to find his plans. While she was gone, Mrs. Montez passed around some of her homemade brownies.

"Troy, you've got something on your mind. What is it?" Gabriella asked gently.

Troy sighed. But he smiled, knowing that such a nice girl like Gabriella would understand. "Ryan and Sharpay are having their annual prank wars. Ryan is really smart. I feel bad for Sharpay; she doesn't deserve this!"

Gabriella frowned. "Well, I don't know if she doesn't deserve it. Think about all she did to us!"

Troy was appalled. Even Gabriella, the nicest person he knew, thought that someone deserved to be punished. At that moment, he liked Sharpay better than anyone, and hat included the entire world.

Looking around the table, he confirmed that idea. There were Mr. and Mrs. Evans, the strict stage parents, his mom and dad, who also expected a lot from him, Mrs. Montez-well, she was okay, but she was too old to really matter. It was the kids his age that really counted the most. There was Ryan-a boy who was nice to him, but had always been mean to everyone else, something that Troy really hated. Finally, there was Gabriella-a girl who had mercy for everyone but Sharpay-one of his favorite people. He did not like anyone sitting at that dinner table. Sharpay was the only person he liked at the moment, and he was clearly the only person that liked Sharpay.

When she sat back at the table, after trying in vain to find Ryan's plans, Troy frowned. Suddenly, he noticed the way her beautiful, curly, blonde hair cascaded down past her shoulders. He noticed the way she blinked her brown, mascara-covered eyes, and the way her lipstick matched her diamond earrings. He noticed the bright red and sky blue colors on her ruffled T-shirt, and her denim miniskirt. Finally, he noticed her designer flip-flops. Normally, it bugged him that Sharpay was shallow enough to care about how she looked, but maybe that was just what girls did. After all, he knew Gabriella cared about her looks.

For the next couple minutes, all he did was look at her. After a while, he nodded. He had made up his mind: he was in love with Sharpay Evans.

Yes, he loved her, a lot more than he loved Gabriella. He had broken Gabriella out of her shell (to the point where she was starting to get a mean streak), and now it was time to help someone else. As mean as it sounded, Sharpay needed help. She was very unhappy. Troy was confident that he could help her. And he wasn't going to stop until she was happy, because that was the kind of person he was. But that didn't mean that he didn't truly love her.

A/N: Hey, guys! I apologize for both the late update and what may seem like excessive detail, but I've had a lot of homework, and that's just the way I write. So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and feel free to leave a review! Ciao!


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, Troy went to visit the guidance counselor, Mrs. Riley, to find out why he had suddenly switched history classes. When he came in, he closed the door and sat in front of her.

"Oh, hi, Troy!" Mrs. Riley smiled, looking up from her papers. "Please, take a seat! Can I help you with anything?" she asked, although she had a pretty good idea why.

Troy scratched his head. "Um, do you know why I switched history classes all of a sudden?" he asked. "I certainly don't mind it, it's just a little…random."

Mrs. Riley beckoned him closer and lowered his voice. She told him the whole story. She whispered, "See, Sharpay's been having a lot of problems lately with her family and things like that, and I've been concerned. I told her mother to take her to a therapist, but she wouldn't cooperate with her. Since direct therapy doesn't seem to work, we're sort of going…undercover. See, after seeing the amazing stuff that you've done for Gabriella, and after seeing how much of a social butterfly she's now become, I figured that you could give her the same kind of help. I asked the teacher to purposely pair you two up for the upcoming project. Please help her out, Troy. I'm only doing my job!" she begged.

Troy nodded, but first he had to take a while to fully digest the situation. Clearly, he and Mrs. Riley had been thinking along the same lines. They both realized that Sharpay was really upset, and needed his help, and no one else's. He smiled at the thought of going "undercover". It made them sound like they were spies. And, with luck and the right lies, the two of them could possibly help Sharpay without her ever knowing it, which would be awfully convenient, since she clearly had a problem with being helped. Troy understood that this was a secret he could not even share with Gabriella. That would be hard, but he was deciding to break up with her soon anyway, so it wasn't like he was fully risking a relationship by doing this. Troy hesitated, and then shook Mrs. Riley's hand.

X-x-x-x-X

In history that day, Mr. Peterson gave his students the entire class time to work on the project. Troy scooted a little closer to Sharpay. Since she forgave him for half-telling Gabriella where she was on Saturday, she was back to her usual flirty self, which was just fine with Troy, since he liked her back now.

"So, Troy! Let's get to the project, shall we? Once they got the cardboard, paint, staples, box, and wood, they got started.

For the next hour, Troy and Sharpay folded, stapled, and painted. They were the most silent pair in the whole class. Around them, people were talking like their lives depended on it, and they were the only ones who had actually started their projects. Not even Dylan and Allison were working! Troy supposed they were both trying to get their projects done as quickly as they could so they could spend the rest of the time flirting. Troy's thoughts were interrupted when Mr. Peterson whistled through his fingers in order to get everyone's attention.

"Come on, people! Are Troy and Sharpay really the only ones who have started the project?" Both kids slunk far down in their seats when the teacher said this. "You have twelve days now, so use them wisely! Enough of this nonsense chitchat. Look at this project here!" he said, gesturing once again to Troy and Sharpay's diorama. They exchanged glances. Teachers just didn't understand how much kids hated their good work to be pointed out.

Mr. Peterson sighed. "Oh, well. Don't blame me when you guys get F's, though."

Troy and Sharpay shrugged and went back to work.

Both were lost in their on thoughts. Sharpay's memory shifted to the first time her mother had forced her to go to a guidance counselor…

_Fourteen-year-old Sharpay Evans reluctantly got into the front seat of her mother's care. She found absolutely no need to be dragged to a counselor. She had no "issues", as her principal put it. Well, maybe she did deep down, but still! They were her problems, and she could choose how to deal with them-or if she wanted to deal with them._

"_Hello Sharpay! Would you mind taking a seat?" the therapist asked cheerfully._

Actually, I would mind taking a seat, _Sharpay thought, but she sat down anyway._

"_I'm Dr. Charles, but you can call me Christine, okay?" Christine smiled with her perfect teeth. Sharpay smiled her even more perfect teeth and nodded._

"_So, Sharpay. Tell me a little bit about yourself."_

"_Sharpay began, "Well, I was the most popular girl in eighth grade, and I'm confident that I will soon become the most popular girl in ninth grade, with the help of my Sharpayettes."_

_Christine frowned. "Sharpayettes?"_

_Sharpay smirked. She expected her to ask what a Sharpayette was. She said, "Oh, just my many followers. They try to be as popular as me, but of course they never will." She fluffed her hair. "But I can't help but give them a few tips, because that's the kind of person I am."_

"_Oh, really?" Christine asked, interested. "So, what are these tips you give them?"_

"_Oh, you know, I tell them which stores to shop in, what hair products to use, how mean to be, things like that._

"_You…tell these girls what to do?" Christine stuttered._

"_Yeah, you heard me right," Sharpay said quite frankly. "That's the price of being a Sharpayette: you have to listen to every last thing I say._

Now, Sharpay regretted saying that. That one line was what put her on the most wanted lists for all therapists and school counselors. She wished that, for once, people could learn to leave her alone. She liked that about Troy. He didn't try to get inside her head. They just enjoyed talking to each other, and he helped Sharpay forget all her problems, and how unhappy and unloved she felt. Sometimes, she thought, a person just needs to take a break and ignore their problems.

As Troy watched Sharpay make faces, he thought about how he was breaking his trust with Gabriella. He talked it over with Mrs. Riley, and also over the phone with Dr. Charles, Sharpay's first counselor, and they all agreed that he was doing the right thing. But still, he knew how sensitive both girls were. As painful as it sounded, Gabriella didn't need him anymore. He had broken her out of her shell, and she now had plenty of friends. The only reason they were still hanging out was because they loved each other. Or, as the case was now, because she loved him. Troy knew that he was only with Sharpay because he wanted to help her out, but that didn't mean he wasn't still attracted to her. After all, Sharpay was sweet and attractive.

Truth be told, Gabriella had a lot more flaws than Sharpay did. For example, Gabriella was a real pushover, and then she cried when she was doing something she didn't want to do because of it. Troy never had fully taught her to stick up for herself, which also made her very clingy and annoying, despite her many friends. Sharpay said no awfully easily, and was her own person. But Troy was certain that he could find a way inside her head without her knowing it. He just had to figure out the right things to say. Not only that, but he needed the right time. Sneakiness was the key.

X-x-x-x-X

That day at lunch, Sharpay sat down next to him, as she tried to every day. And of course, Troy grinned and scooted next to her. But all of a sudden, Gabriella came over and shoved her off the bench. "Go sit with your friends and leave us alone," she snapped. Troy and Sharpay exchanged rather surprised looks before Sharpay dusted herself off and went to find the rest of the drama club. Since when was Gabriella so mean?

"'Sup, Troy?" Gabriella asked.

"Um, not a lot, "Troy said, wondering why she was talking so funny. And why was she slouching? Were those designer shoes on her feet? No, they couldn't be. Gabriella cared how she looked, but she didn't try to be trendy or anything like that.

"Like my new shoes, Troy?" Gabriella asked. "They're designer."

Troy was agape. He never thought Gabriella would do such a thing. She was acting really Sharpay-ish, and he didn't like it.

"Oh, that's good to know. So, who is your partner for the monthly project?" Troy asked, desperate to have a conversation not involving shoes.

"Oh, I'm with Chad," Gabriella answered. "We haven't really started, though. We just keep chatting."

Troy frowned. Were he and Sharpay the only ones in the entire high school who started this project? The thought of that surprised him.

All of a sudden, Gabriella pulled a hairbrush and a mirror out, and brushed her hair for the next twenty minutes, not even touching the food on her plate.

At first, he was dying to know what was wrong. Then it hit him: she _was_ acting like Sharpay!

_She knows I like her, _Troy thought. _Gabriella knows, and she's trying to act like Sharpay in order to win me back! Oh, well. I'll deal with that issue some other time._

As Troy was still trying to process the fact that Gabriella was jealous of him hanging out with Sharpay, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Behind him, the drama club appeared to be having a fight. On one side, Ryan and Kelsi were telling her something Troy couldn't make out, but it sounded like they were kicking her out of the drama club. Todd, the other boy in the drama club, was on Ryan and Kelsi's side as well, and no one was supporting Sharpay. After talking to her three ex-friends for a while, Sharpay stormed off, crying, and sat at an empty table.

Troy walked over. "Sharpay, what's wrong?"

Sharpay just shrugged. "I don't know! They just randomly turned against me." She glared at Ryan. "I bet this is all part of Ryan's prank," she said murderously. "Oh, well. Once I attack him with my water balloon ambush, he'll be sorry he ever messed with me!" Sharpay made a fist and punched her palm like she was ready to beat someone up.

Troy smiled. He knew that Sharpay's lame, overused prank was hardly any match for Ryan's original, genius one. A part of him wanted to help Sharpay with her prank, but that would just be interfering with this friendly competition that wasn't so friendly.

X-x-x-x-X

After school, Troy went to talk to Ryan, Kelsi, and Todd to find put what happened at lunch.

"Hey guys," he said as he approached them. "So, what happened at lunch today?" he asked, casually, yet directly.

"Oh, nothing." Ryan smirked. "We just had a little disagreement, so we kicked her out."

Troy sighed. He could tell that Ryan wasn't telling the whole story. Before he could ask, Kelsi pulled him over.

"She wanted us to paint her dressing room for her. It wasn't even for a school play! We had enough of her bossing us around, so we kicked her out of the drama club." Just then, Kelsi's mom drove up, and she had to leave. "Well, I'll talk to you tomorrow, alright?"

Troy waved. Then, he sat down on a bench to contemplate. He knew he had time, because his dad was often late on Thursday.

He tried to decide whom he wanted to believe. He trusted Kelsi, but then again, he also trusted Sharpay. To him, neither story was very believable. Nobody kicked a person out of a club without having a good reason, but at the same time, he knew that Sharpay was not in any out of school performances. In the end, he decided to go with Sharpay's story, because the drama club probably just had some other reason for dumping her, but they just didn't say it. Also, he still liked Sharpay more than anyone else in the world.

_I'll talk to the drama club more tomorrow,_ he thought as hid dad pulled up. After all, he didn't want Sharpay to be friendless. Then she might become as clingy as Gabriella, and he didn't want that.


	6. Chapter 6

The next day was Friday. It was April Fool's Day, and the day of the Ryan vs. Sharpay prank war. There was no school due to a teacher's meeting, so Troy went to Sharpay's house to work a little on their project. Actually, they were a couple of hours away from being finished. For a moment, Troy wondered why the project was so easy, but the he remembered that it was all a setup. Still, he wondered why they gave such an easy assignment to the whole school. Probably to raise less suspicion, he supposed. Oh, well. Whatever works is good. As long as Sharpay never finds out what's going on, that's all that counts.

He rang the bell, and Ryan answered the door again. "Hey, Troy! Sharpay's out shopping right now, but she'll be back soon. Come on in! I want to show you my genius prank!" He grinned. Troy shrugged, and followed him upstairs.

Once the boys were in Ryan's room, Ryan took out a white container of body lotion. He opened the jar and pulled a can of blue oil from his pocket, and sprayed it on the lotion. When Troy leaned over Ryan's shoulder to see the lotion, he jumped back. The lotion looked regular, but it had been sprayed with skunk-smelling spray.

"I decided to ditch the no-prank prank," Ryan explained. "I figured that Sharpay was too smart for that. Don't you agree?" Troy responded with a shrug and a nod. He still thought that Sharpay didn't deserve any of this, but Ryan was his friend, and he didn't want to risk their friendship.

"Sounds like a good prank, Ryan," Troy said, trying hard to not sound as half-hearted as he was.

Ryan glared at him. "Come on, Troy! Do you actually feel bad for that brat?"

"Me?" Troy got defensive. "No way! Sharpay will definitely get what she deserves!" he lied.

Ryan breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness! For a moment there, I thought one of my best friends actually cared about my little sister!" Troy laughed weakly. Then he frowned.

"Hey, Ryan! You think Sharpay is smart enough to catch on to your other prank, but not this one? I mean, you can smell that stuff the second you open the jar! If you want her to wear it, she's not going to.

Ryan just smirked. "Troy, my young friend! You are about to see the most realistic robot skunk ever!"

Troy sighed. He knew that Ryan was terrible at building things.

"Don't worry, I bought it at a toy store," Ryan said, reading Troy's expression. Troy shrugged as he watched Ryan pull something out from under his bed.

"Ta-da!" Ryan exclaimed. Troy raised his eyebrows.

The fake skunk was quite realistic indeed. It had artificial muscles and bones that were completely remote-controlled, but it was a very, very high-tech remote, not one of those jerky, noisy ones you usually see in robots. The muscles and bones also felt very real. It was voice-activated, and sprayed water at anyone he heard. (Troy was unfortunate enough to be tested on.) Troy agreed. If Ryan put this fake skunk in Sharpay's window, and could get the skunk to react to the jar opening, anyone gullible like Sharpay could fall for that prank easy as pie.

Troy contemplated once again. It was a really good prank. According to the label on the spray can, Sharpay would smell like a sick skunk for three months. That was definitely a little harsh. He considered telling Sharpay what she was in for. He really, sincerely considered it. But before he had time to make his final decision, the boys heard Sharpay downstairs. Ryan grinned excitedly and hurried over to the bathroom. Troy went downstairs to greet Sharpay. He had decided to tell her what Ryan's prank was. He figured she might be happier if she had someone to support her, not to mention one less person to bug her.

"Hi, Troy!" Sharpay said. "Have you been hanging out with Ryan?" Sharpay said, trying to sound casual, but the gleam was in her eye. She tried to think of a way to covertly get Troy to tell her Ryan's prank.

Troy's eye had the same gleam. He whispered, "Whatever you do, don't go into the bathroom! Or wear body lotion."

Sharpay smiled gratefully. Thanks for telling me, Troy! What did he put in my lotion?"

Troy rolled his eyes. "Skunk spray that makes you smell like you've been skunked for three months!"

Sharpay scoffed. "Ryan tried to do that? I can't believe him!" Sharpay put her arm around Troy's shoulder. "Troy, you have my eternal gratitude."

Troy was about to respond, but Ryan cleared his throat. He was standing in the doorway, glaring at him. "Traitor," he muttered under his breath. _I guess Troy isn't my friend after all, _he thought.

Troy smiled to himself. Sharpay found out what Ryan's prank was. That meant that the prank wars were cancelled. If they were cancelled forever or not, well, that was something he would get to later. But for this year, the day would, for once, not end in Sharpay shoving something off herself, with Ryan having a big smirk on his face. Ryan wasn't smirking today. For once, Sharpay had won.

X-x-x-x-X

Just half an hour later, Troy and Sharpay had finished their project, and sat on the couch talking.

"So, the project's finished," Troy said. He smiled.

Sharpay nodded rather shyly. "Yes, it is."

"I wonder how many people have stated it yet," Troy said thoughtfully.

"I think we're still the only ones," Sharpay said. "Or at least that's what I would assume," she added.

"Yeah." Troy said, looking at his shoes.

He looked into Sharpay's eyes. He could tell they were both thinking the same thing: they were both craving a serious make-out fest. And by crave, they meant a necessity.

It didn't take much thinking. In less than five seconds, Sharpay puckered up her lips, and Troy placed his on hers. Boy, was Sharpay a good kisser!

When they let go, they smiled at each other. They both knew that they were truly in love with each other. Especially for Sharpay, who realized that Troy was more than just cute and a good kisser. He was honest, trustworthy, and always on her side. All he ever did was care about her feelings. He was he one person she always wanted, and now she had him. Never again would she fall victim to Ryan's torture, not with Troy by her side. Troy was literally her hero.

Troy too was starting to fall for Sharpay for reasons other than her looks. Sharpay was not the same girl she was at school. At school, she was very bold and outgoing, and she appeared to have more confidence than anyone in the entire high school, including the seniors. But she wasn't like that at home. At home, she was shy and quiet, and her brother took the stage. Clearly, Ryan was the one that got the most attention. That was why Sharpay tried to get so much attention at school-she didn't get any at home. Evidently, he and Ryan were the only ones who knew that. Since Ryan used Sharpay's feelings against her, Troy was really the only one who was willing to stick up for her. It was a shame how intolerant the world was.

Troy and Sharpay both snapped out of their thought when Ryan cleared his throat. Troy turned around and gulped. How long had he been standing there?

"Troy, explain this to me," Ryan said coldly. Before Troy could respond, Ryan sunk his nails into Troy's arm, and pulled him into the dining room.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Troy said as he was being dragged off. Sharpay gave him a look of sympathy, while Ryan just rolled his eyes.

"Alright, Troy. Let's get one thing straight. I do not want you dating my sister. As your friend, it's my duty to make sure you have a nice girlfriend, not that jerk." Ryan hissed.

Troy crossed his arms. "Protective much?" he asked. "Admit it. The only reason you don't want me going out with her is the fact that she's your sister." He narrowed his eyes. "That's really shallow of you."

"Okay, fine. It's true. Look, the thing is, I'm just worried about Gabriella. I don't want her to get hurt!" Ryan sounded awfully sincere when he said this.

Troy frowned again. He had forgotten Gabriella for the moment. In his mind, he tried to find the right words to say to her. Maybe he could avoid not telling her directly.

"Troy, Sharpay's not right for you. She just isn't, okay?" Ryan put his arm on Troy's shoulder.

But Troy was convinced that she didn't know the real Sharpay. "You don't know her," he growled.

Ryan looked him in the eye. "Actually, I do." He lowered his voice to almost a whisper, just in case Sharpay was eavesdropping. "I overheard you talking to the guidance counselor last week. Troy, let someone else help her. It's not your job. Besides, I know you don't love her anyway. I know you're just treating her like that so you can help her."

"But I do love her!" Troy insisted. "You're right, I am just dating her so I can help her, but that doesn't mean I don't love her!

"And besides, you're missing the point!" he added. The only reason that I'm the one helping her is because it's the only way we can be sneaky enough! Does that make sense?" Troy asked. He glared at Ryan very critically.

"Fine," Ryan smirked. "You have one week to prove all that to me."

X-x-x-x-X

On Monday, Troy put a note in Gabriella's locker telling her to meet him on the roof during free period. He was going to break up with her. It was a hard thing to do, but he knew it had to be done sooner or later, if he ever wanted to officially date Sharpay, that is.

When Gabriella took out the note, she grinned. She really loved going to the rooftop during free period and hanging out with Toy. It was heaven for her-a nice break from all the trials of high school. But it was particularly a place for her to be alone with Troy, and away from Sharpay and the thoughts of how that girl was going to torture her next. Troy was her sanctuary. Sometimes she worried that she bugged him by wanting to spend so much time with him, but she literally needed him. He was her hero.

"Hi, Troy!" Gabriella said as she walked upstairs. She looked so happy and innocent; Troy began to wonder if it was quite the right time and place to break up with her. But then he mentally slapped himself. _Stop it, Troy!_ He told himself. _You love Sharpay more than life, and she _needs _you! Gabriella loves you! There's a difference! _Troy nodded and took a deep breath. The sooner he got this over with, the better. Oh, but what were the right words to say? Troy wished that he had spent a little more time practicing what he was going to say. He just wasn't prepared! But he thought of how much Sharpay's happiness meant to him, and he braced himself. There was no way out now.

"Troy?" Gabriella asked again. "Are you alright?"

It was now or never, Troy decided. "Gabriella, I can't go out with you anymore," he said flatly. He was somewhat proud of his bravery. Now he just had to deal with the tears he was about to face.

"Troy, what's wrong? It has to do with my clinginess, doesn't it?" She looked him in the eye. "Tell me the truth."

Troy shrugged. "Well, partly," he admitted.

Gabriella sighed. "There's someone else then, huh?" she asked. Before Troy could answer her, Gabriella went into a long rant. "I mean, why can't you boys just find girls you like and stay with them for the rest of your life? Don't you think that would make life a whole lot easier? Not only would it make life easier, but also fewer girls would get their feelings hurt. You know, like mine are now?" Gabriella said, as if he didn't know. Gabriella sighed. "So, who is she?" she asked coldly.

Troy had the sense to wait until she had finished drinking her water to tell her. Then, he muttered. "I love Sharpay."

Gabriella's hearing was good enough for Troy not to have to repeat it. Her eyes got very, very wide. "Are you kidding? What do you see in that witch?"

Troy smiled. He wanted to tell her all the things he loved about Sharpay, but he had the heart not to do so. "I love her for all the same reasons I love you. It's just…" Troy started. But then he stopped. He was about to tell Gabriella about him working with the school psychologist, but he thought it would be too rude to talk about someone's personal issues to someone who didn't know about them, especially if the first person had no idea that the other guy knew, and wasn't okay with it. He knew that Gabriella and Sharpay were good friends, and that Gabriella was only calling her a witch because she was mad at him, but it still wasn't right. Troy bit his lip.

"It's just what? Troy, can you hear me?" Gabriella said after a few minutes. Troy snapped out of his daze.

Troy made something up on the spot. "It's just that…you're right. You have been really clingy to me lately, and it does kind of get on my nerves. I mean, I know you just care about me and all, but I really need some time to myself sometimes, alright?"

"I know you do, but you're the only person who really pays attention to me!" she protested. "Even Taylor is more dedicated to school than her best friend." Gabriella pouted. "My mom is too busy with her career, and my teachers love me, but they're not here to listen to my problems. Troy, you're the only person I know who is fully dedicated to me. That's what a boyfriend is supposed to do, right? He's supposed to put his girlfriend before anything, right? Isn't that true?" she persisted.

Troy was pretty shocked at how egotistic Gabriella was starting to become. He scratched his head. "Well, I wouldn't say that a boyfriend or girlfriend should be first in a person's _life_," he said honestly. "I mean, if a person put their friends, girlfriends, daughters, et cetera, then people's lives would go terribly! I mean, think about it, Gabriella. If other people came before school, work, healthy living, and so on, nothing would ever get done! Buildings would go unbuilt, papers would go ungraded, food would get spoiled…the bottom line is, nothing would ever get done. Does that make any sense at all?" Troy asked. He was becoming irritable. Couldn't Gabriella just accept that their relationship was over and be done with it?

"So let me get this straight," Gabriella said. "You're saying that I keep you from doing what you need to do?" she asked.

Troy nodded, distracted. "Yeah, sure. Whatever." He was only paying half attention to Gabriella, since that was hardly the reason he was breaking up with her, albeit being true.

"Yeah, sure, whatever?" Gabriella repeated incredulously. "Troy, my feelings are incredibly hurt, and all you have to say is, 'Yeah, sure, whatever'? That's a disappointment. I expect better from my ex-boyfriend." Gabriella was about to say more, but just then, the bell rang. Gabriella stormed downstairs towards her math class.

On the way to history class, Troy caught Ryan's eye. Ryan glared at him, giving him a look that said he knew he had dumped Gabriella. Troy returned the glare and walked right by him. He wasn't about to deal with him at the moment. But Ryan grabbed him by the arm once more.

"Nice try, Troy. You have three minutes before class starts. That's plenty of time to talk to me."

Troy sighed. "Okay. You want to talk to me? Then talk," he said. He wasn't in the mood for an "I told you so" at the moment.

"Well, what did I tell you? Gabriella is sobbing in the girls' room right now, and no one can console her. Do you feel good about that?" Ryan raised his eyebrows.

Troy sighed. "Of course I don't feel good about it," he said, as if Ryan had asked what two plus two was. "What kind of person would? But still. When I was talking to Gabriella, she kept telling me that she expected me to put her before everything. Do you really think I would let her do that? What kind of person would I be then, huh?" he asked Ryan.

Ryan sighed. He couldn't answer that. Suddenly, he perked up. Smirking, he asked Troy, "So Sharpay's being upset is more important than Gabriella's unhappiness?" Ryan expected Troy to be unable to answer that.

But Troy stayed on his feet. "Yes, it is. Gabriella will recover eventually. Sharpay can't recover on her own." Then it was Troy's turn for a brainstorm. "So, why do you care so much about Gabriella, anyway?" Troy asked. He waited for Ryan to answer.

Ryan scratched his head. "Oh, um, why do I care about her? Maybe because I…uh…I care about everyone's feelings! Yeah, that's it!" Ryan got really nervous. It was obvious to Troy that he liked her.

Troy giggled. "Um, yeah. Riight. If you care about everyone's feelings, how come you love to torture Sharpay?" He walked into the history classroom, pleased with his victory.

A/N: Yes, you saw it! There was some Ryella going on. Doesn't Ryella rule? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and feel free to leave a review. Oh, and I hope you guys are happy with the long chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

A week later, the history projects were due. Sharpay begged Troy not to turn their project in early so they didn't look like show-offy nerds. Troy listened to her, and he understood. They waited to turn their project in with the rest of the class.

"Alright, students! Your history dioramas are due today! Please bring them to the front.

As the students piled the projects onto Mr. Peterson's desk, Troy and Sharpay looked at each other in surprise and dread. Their project was clearly better than everyone else's. Everyone else's dioramas looked like they had been done overnight, and the kids' faces proved it. Even Dylan and Allison looked like they started their project at the last minute.

When Mr. Peterson saw Troy and Sharpay's project, he gasped. "Troy…Sharpay…how did you…how creative! I'm impressed!"

Sharpay slunk far down in her seat. This was so bad for her reputation!

Kelsi noticed Sharpay's look and giggled. Troy saw Kelsi giggle and sighed. High school students were so intolerant.

Mr. Peterson looked at all the other projects and sighed. "Alright, guys," he said. Since all of your projects would get F's if I accepted them, I'll give all of you three extra days to work on the project, starting with the rest of this class period. And when I say work, I mean hard! Good luck!"

Half the students shot murderous glares at Troy and Sharpay. Troy groaned and wondered what Chad would think if he ever found out.

"Troy and Sharpay, you two can just sit quietly for the rest of class. You guys have no homework for the next three days." Mr. Peterson smiled.

Troy put his head on his desk. What exactly made teachers think that all kids enjoyed special attention? Did any kids enjoy special attention?

Just then, a paper airplane landed on his desk. It said, "Allison" on the front. _Oh, right. That's who._ He sighed and opened up the card.

"Listen, punk!" the card read. "Don't you dare steal my spotlight! If I lose my reputation as teacher's pet because of you…well, I won't have to do anything, actually! Your punishment will be the loss of all your friends! But what can I say? Dylan is so cute, and his cuteness just gets me distracted! But never mind that. I will climb back on top, and I will be teacher's pet once more! You cannot stop me, Troy Bolton! From, Allison."

When Troy was done reading the message, he glanced over at Allison. She glared at him. Troy wasn't sure how to react, so he just stuck his tongue out at her. Allison rolled her eyes back, and turned back to her desk before Mr. Peterson caught him.

A few moments later, another note appeared on his desk. This time, it was from Sharpay. He opened it up, and read, "Hey, Troy! I just wanted to let you know that I'm so happy we're going out now! Look, I have a confession to make. See, I have issues with my feelings and stuff like that, and my mom takes such drastic measures to get me to open up! She's used the sneakiest ways to get me to let out my feelings, even if it involves doing things behind my back. Troy, I'm telling you this because I want you to keep an eye out for anything that might seem like one of her plans, all right? I'm really sick of people trying to give me help I don't need. From your girlfriend, Sharpay."

Troy looked at Sharpay and nodded, just to let her know he read her note. Then he sunk deep into his chair, and started to think. He had been doing that a lot lately.

At that moment, Troy had never been more overcome with guilt in his entire life. Sharpay was counting on him to keep her from something she hated doing, but Troy was the one trying to get her to do it! Maybe being the girlfriend of someone you're trying to help like this isn't such a good idea. Or maybe he was just too nice, he decided. Yes, that was it. He could either help her out, or he could be her boyfriend. He couldn't have both; it was too difficult. If he wasn't her boyfriend, he would be less willing to back down.

But that's too harsh, he decided. If he broke up with her, she would only get nastier, which was the opposite of what he, Mrs. Evans, Christine, and Mrs. Riley wanted. It was a lose-lose situation; there was nothing else to it.

That given, Troy decided he had a big decision to make, but he couldn't make it on his own. He promised himself that he would visit Mrs. Riley by the end of the day.

X-x-x-x-X

It was lunchtime next, which meant he had to face Gabriella at lunch. He wasn't sure how that would go down. As he got his school lunch, his mind filled with questions. Would Gabriella be mean enough to sit next to him, but give him the cold shoulder? Or would she cut him at least a little slack, and just sit with Taylor? Or, if it were possible, would she just sit next to him and treat him like a friend? He shrugged. He supposed he would have to find out.

As it turned out, Gabriella went with the second approach: to sit with Taylor, as far away from him as possible. Troy was happy about that. At least he knew he wouldn't have to deal with her.

He did, however, have to deal with Chad. As the boys sat down to eat, Chad glared at his friend.

At first, Troy was too preoccupied to notice. He was too guilt-ridden. But eventually, he noticed the silence and looked up at Chad.

Chad, being Troy's best buddy, could see that he was feeling guilty. He said grudgingly, "Yeah, I'd be guilty too if I just dumped someone who depended on me."

Troy couldn't help but smile, because truthfully, Chad had no clue why he was upset.

Chad was a bit annoyed by Troy's smirk. "What's so funny about dumping your girlfriend and making her miserable?"

"Nothing, nothing!" Troy grouched. "That's not why I was smiling."

"Oh." Chad frowned. "Well, then why are you smiling?"

Troy sighed. He wasn't in the mood for such questions. "It's no reason, alright?" he grumbled.

Chad shrugged, figuring he should stop asking annoying questions. But he assumed it was okay for him to ask serious questions, so he said, "So, are you happy you dumped Gabriella?"

Troy was about to say no, but stopped. There were definitely pros to dumping Gabriella. And of course, there were also cons. While it was nice to have someone not to follow you around, he missed having someone who cared about him. As for other pros, well, he loved not having the responsibility of being a boyfriend. Sure, he had this responsibility with Sharpay, but it was different in the sense that Sharpay wasn't annoying in any way. Sure, the flirting got out of hand sometimes, but all in all, she was a good person and fun to hang out with.

That was it: Sharpay was fun. She was fun, friendly, and outgoing, whereas Gabriella was shy and never wanted to go anywhere. It was as if she missed the whole 'date' concept.

After weighing the pros and cons for a few moments, Troy finally came up with his answer. He turned to Chad and said, "Yes."

Chad looked at him incredulously. Troy, did you just say yes? I'm really surprised at you, man!" Chad crossed his arms.

Troy sighed. "Chad, listen. Gabriella's a very nice girl, but she's just not as fun loving as Sharpay is. Gabriella won't even go bowling with me, while I've already been on three dates with Sharpay in the past week!!"

Chad rolled his eyes. "Alright, let me get this straight," he said. "You think that going on three dates a week is a good thing? Troy, that's an overload!"

"And not even wanting to go to the mall is the right amount?" Troy asked, challenging his friend to come up with a good response.

Chad shook his head. "No, not even wanting to go to the mall is not enough, I agree. But would you really rather have more than enough of something than not enough of it?"

Troy nodded. "Yes, I would." This time, he didn't have to think about his answer.

"So what you're saying is, you'd rather have too much food than eat just barely enough to sustain your life?"

Troy looked at him funny. "Well, no. But why are you comparing this to food?"

The bell rang before Chad could answer Troy's question.

X-x-x-x-X

After Troy finished his lunch, he walked down the hallway to Mrs. Riley's office.

"Oh, hi Troy!" Mrs. Riley said. "Come in. I've been meaning to talk to you, anyway. How are things going with Sharpay?" she asked as she closed the door.

"Not good," Troy said. He took out the note Sharpay gave him and handed it to her. After she read it, she looked at him.

"So what do you think I should do?" Troy asked. "Do you think I should break up with her? Should I tell her the truth? Either way, she would only get nastier, which isn't what we want."

Mrs. Riley nodded thoughtfully. 'Well, you're right," she said. "Neither option would do you any good. Breaking up with he will only make her meaner, as you said, and telling her the truth is simply not what we're trying to do here."

Troy took a deep breath. "Yes, you have a point," he said. "But as a counselor, you're supposed to make sure everyone's happy, right?"

Mrs. Riley shrugged and nodded. "Yeah, you're right."

"Well, lying to my girlfriend makes me unhappy, not to mention terribly guilty. All I'm saying is, I don't know if it's really necessary to sacrifice my conscience for all this."

"And again, you're right," she said. She was about to say something else, but stopped. "Oh, boy. This is a hard decision."

Troy nodded in agreement. For the next few moments, the two sat there in silence. Then finally, Mrs. Riley spoke up.

"Maybe you should just tell her the truth," she said. "As you said, my job is to keep everyone at this school happy, and you're smart enough to know that a lie like this is bad for your conscience. So my advice is, tell her the truth. But don't do it just yet. You guys just started going out. Do something for her that is so nice, she'll love you no matter what you say, not to mention you'll keep her trust."

Troy sighed. "You teachers don't know anything about dating," he muttered.

"Just trust me," Mrs. Riley insisted. "You'll think of something."

Troy was about to protest, but just then, the bell rang.

X-x-x-x-X

Two nights later, Troy rang Sharpay's doorbell. It took a while, but he knew just how to tell Sharpay the truth without making her mad. It would make her squirm, but it would hopefully convince her to change.

Sharpay answered the door this time. "Hey, Troy!" Sharpay said. Troy gasped. Sharpay looked almost as fantastic as he did! She was wearing a light pink top and a silver miniskirt. "You ready for our date?" she asked.

Troy nodded, gulping. He followed Sharpay into the dining room and sat down. He hated how happy Sharpay was. She didn't know what she was in for. For a moment, he thought about waiting a little while longer. But according to Mrs. Riley, this was the perfect environment for Troy to give Sharpay a piece of news like this.

"Sparkling cider?" Sharpay offered. At first, Troy didn't answer. Sharpay waved her hand in front of his face. "Hello? Earth to Troy!"

"I'm sorry, what?" Troy asked. He was feeling nervous and queasy, just as he had felt when he dumped Gabriella. Maybe dumping people was hazardous to his health.

"Do you want any sparkling cider?" Sharpay asked again.

"Oh, cider?" Troy said. "Sure, sure." He held out his glass. Sharpay filled it with cider, and Troy took a sip.

"I have a turkey in the oven," Sharpay explained. "It'll be ready in about ten minutes." Sharpay rested her head in her elbows. "Until then, tell me what you've been up to lately!"

It was the perfect moment. But Troy chickened out. "You go first," he said.

Sharpay looked a little off-guard. "Um, okay," she said. "Well, I'm on the verge of getting kicked out of the drama club just because I want Ryan and Kelsi to paint my dressing room by themselves, while Todd and the Sharpayettes fan me and give me whatever I want. But thanks to you, that won't happen, as long as they don't tell Mrs. Darbus anything. Also, my math teacher says that I need to go back to level one math. But I don't care about that. It's just less work for me." She smiled. "So what's up with you?"

"Oh, not much," he said casually. "Basketball practice, spending time with you," Sharpay smiled. "The usual stuff."

Sharpay nodded. "That's nice."

Troy mentally slapped himself for chickening out again. But it wasn't too late yet. He added, "I've also been reading the news," he said, trying to keep his voice steady.

"Oh, really?" Sharpay said, curious. "Looking around the sports section, I assume?"

Now was his chance. "Actually, I've been looking at the psychology section."

Sharpay frowned. She didn't like where this was going.

"I found this very interesting article about a boy who was so unloved that he ran away. Maybe you could check it out," Troy said.

Sharpay sighed and grabbed the article, which, though she didn't know it, was really written by Troy. What she read was pretty surprising. The boy, Freddie, was so jealous of his older brother, Jim. Jim was straight up close to perfect. He came home with straight A's on his report card, while Freddie never got anything higher than a C+. Jim never needed to be reminded to do his chores, but it took hours of nagging to get Freddie to do his. Freddie got held back a year, but Jim had already skipped two grades.

Eventually, Freddie was sick of Jim's constant praise. He packed a bag, and headed for the park. _Hmm, doesn't sound like a bad idea right now,_ Sharpay thought. She continued reading.

For the next few days, Freddie lived in a park. He lived off of the cookies and juice he snuck into his backpack. But one day, Freddie scraped his knee. At seven, he was used to having his parents kiss his scrapes, so when he was alone it was hard for him. On top of that, it started to rain. Shivering and sobbing, he walked back home, where he got hugs and kisses from his parents, who reassured him that they could never love Jim more than him.

When Sharpay finished reading the article, she scoffed. "Nice article, Troy," she said unenthusiastically.

"Is something wrong?" Troy asked innocently.

"No, it's fine," Sharpay said. "It's just that I thought I asked you to be on the lookout for anything that may look like one of my mother's plans," Sharpay said.

Troy scratched his head. "Yeah, about that…"

Sharpay looked at him suspiciously. "My mom didn't give you that paper, did she? Tell me the truth."

"No, I swear to God that she didn't," Troy said. Sharpay could tell that he meant it.

"Oh, okay." She smiled.

"Sharpay, wait! I'm not finished yet."

"Yeah?" she asked.

Troy took a deep breath. "Sharpay, you're right. Your mom is out with another one of her 'plans'. I'm her plan."

Sharpay stared at him, wide-eyed. "Troy, are you serious? You've got to be kidding!" she exclaimed.

Troy sighed and shook his head. "I wish I were. Unfortunately, Mrs. Riley called me to her office one morning and told me what was going on. She told me how you effused to be helped, and she knew I could get to you because you had a crush on me and wouldn't suspect anything. That was why I switched history classes: so I could work on the project with you and get closer to you. Mr. Peterson was in on this, too.

"But Sharpay, the truth is that I love you. This whole mission has brought us closer together. That's the only reason I'm telling you this. I mean, I wouldn't want you to find out that I lied, would you?"

While Troy was talking, Sharpay's face changed. Her feelings went through betrayal, to embarrassment, to sorrow, and finally to anger.

Sharpay squinted her eyes at Troy. "Well, if you were really close to me, you'd understand that I just want people to leave me alone! They're my problems, all right? I can choose how to deal with them!" The oven timer went off, but neither of them heard it.

"Sharpay, it's not that I don't understand! I definitely see where you're coming from, but your happiness is the most important thing ever to me, it really is!"

Sharpay softened a little and shook her head. "Troy, if you care about my happiness, then why won't you just leave me alone?"

"Because, Sharpay. Just ignoring your problems doesn't make you happier."

"Augghh!!" Sharpay grunted. "Troy, you're not a psychologist!" she screamed.

Troy, on the other hand, managed not to lose his temper. He nodded. "No, I'm not a psychologist. But I am a person who cares about you and wants to help you," he reminded her. "I'm you're boyfriend."

For a moment, Sharpay just stared at him. Then, she took the sparkling cider and splashed it on his face. Troy winced at the pain as it went into his eyes.

"Okay, ow!" Troy exclaimed. "What was that for?"

Sharpay rolled her eyes as if it were the most obvious question in the world. She said, "Um, hello? I splashed sparkling cider on your face so you could get a reality check. It looks like you really need one," Sharpay said, not bothering to apologize or ask if he was okay.

"And exactly what do I need a reality check for?" Troy asked.

Sharpay rolled her eyes even more. "You need a reality check because you don't get that I don't need help."

Now, Troy was beginning to lose his temper. "Sharpay…you're the one who needs a reality check. Can't you understand that we're only trying to help you? Why is that so hard for you to understand.

Sharpay sighed. She hated that this date was turning into an episode of Dr. Phil, but she still wanted to make sure that Troy at least saw where she was coming from, so she said, "But do you understand that you're not going to be able to help me?"

Troy frowned. "What do you mean, I can't help you? I don't even know exactly why you're upset! Can't you just tell me? Can't you give me a chance?"

Sharpay shook her head, and her voice got softer. "Sorry, Troy. You can't help me. I don't see a single way on Earth that you could possibly help me get over my jealousy of Ryan."

After she said that, both Troy and Sharpay gasped. Sharpay, because she just gave away her deepest, darkest secret to someone she didn't exactly trust at the moment. Troy, because he was glad to finally know what Sharpay's exact problem was, which made helping her easier, and also that he was right on the spot when he wrote that article.

"Get out," Sharpay said coldly.

"What?" Troy asked.

"Get out!" Sharpay repeated, much louder this time. "Get out of my house before I shove you out myself!"

Troy, albeit knowing how weak Sharpay was as far as muscles went, was somewhat threatened by this, so he walked out of the house without a word, and went home.

X-x-x-x-X

As Troy lay in bed, he thought about how much Sharpay really meant to him. At first, he was surprised by the reality of this fact: _Sharpay meant something to him!_

True, Sharpay was, in general, nothing special. Just a regular girl who was very upset. He supposed he cared about her so much because he saw how much everyone else in school didn't. But it wasn't her fault. Jealousy was jealousy; what could she do about that? The only people who were willing to help her out besides Troy himself were Mrs. Riley. Mrs. Evans, and Christine. No one else cared in the least what Sharpay's problems were.

Troy began to wonder about that—he began to wonder why he was so compassionate and open. It definitely made him different from other kids. Then, he realized that he did the same thing with Gabriella. He supposed that that was just how he was. And he figured that was a good thing, even if it came with a price sometimes.

A/N: Hm…do you think that last chapter was a little too predictable? I myself am not sure. Tell me what you think. (It also may have been a little overly long…sorry about that. ;))


	8. Chapter 8

Even though it was Saturday, Troy called Mrs. Riley's number.

"Hello?" she asked.

"So, do you have any ideas to get Sharpay to talk to me again?" Troy asked. He didn't have to say who it was.

Mrs. Riley laughed gently. "So it didn't go over well? What exactly did you do?" she asked, out of curiosity.

"I wrote her a fake news article about a boy who runs away because he felt unloved. After she read the article, I broke the news to her. She started yelling at me, saying that I had no ability to understand her problems, no matter how much I proved against her. And, well, now she just won't talk to me, and she's unhappier than ever, just like I predicted. So what do you think I should do?"

Mrs. Riley thought about that for a moment. "Well, Troy," she said. "I think you should just let things blow over. After all, didn't you say that she liked it that you were protecting her from Ryan's teasing? Maybe if you ignore her, she'll remember how much you mean to her, and she'll open up to you gain."

Troy considered that. He nodded. "Mm-hm. Or, I could just continually beg her to come back to me." He smiled, approving of his own idea.

Mrs. Riley laughed. "Sarcasm, right?"

"Actually, no," Troy answered flatly. He thought Mrs. Riley would like his idea. He looked at the clock and said, "Oh, I have to go to basketball practice. I'll see you later!"

"But Troy—" Mrs. Riley began, but she was too late. Troy had already hung u the phone, and was getting his uniform on. Mrs. Riley sighed. She hated it when students didn't listen t a word she said, even when they were asking her for advice. It happened a lot, but she figured that's how kids were. She knew Troy would realize he was wrong eventually. Then, he would take the right approach. Until then, she just had to wait. That was one of the rules about being a guidance counselor: you have to let kids learn from their mistakes. Now, she just had to wait.

X-x-x-x-X

Troy had a hard practice, and he wasn't talking about exhausting; he never got exhausted from exercise. Chad still refused to speak to him, although he did pass him the ball. He told the rest of the boys on the team about Troy's break-up with Gabriella, so they weren't speaking to him, either. For the first time in his life, Troy had no one to talk to during stretching time, or after he finished showering. And of course, he was somewhat sad that Gabriella wasn't outside the gym waiting for him. He decided later, though, that he was really sad that Sharpay wasn't there to greet him. Even though Sharpay was nothing like Gabriella, she never forgot to hang around the gym after his practice. Not only did he not have Sharpay anymore, but he didn't have a girlfriend, period! But he was pretty sure that his idea was good. He figured Sharpay was stronger than Gabriella emotionally, but he did know her soft spot.

Troy walked out of the gym in silence. Later, he met up with Sharpay in Selena's Shoes, a shoe store that Sharpay claimed to be, "Where everyone should go if they want to be cool like me".

"Hey, Sharpay!" Troy said. He caught her by surprise.

"Hi, Troy!" Sharpay said. For a moment, she forgot that she was angry with him, and went back to her initial flirting mode. "Do you like my new shoes?" she asked.

Troy looked down. Her shoes were kind of nice, but then again, he was a boy. They were pointed, and they were magenta with sparkles. He had seen similar styles before; it was nothing special, really.

"Those are nice shoes," he said half-heartedly.

All of a sudden, Sharpay remembered her anger. She changed her tone, and said, "Yeah, it figures you would say something like that. Because as we all know, you don't care about me in the least!"

Troy suddenly noticed that he was getting a lot of attention, probably because he was a boy in a shoe store, so he dragged Sharpay over to a more deserted area.

"Come on, Sharpay! Can't we just talk about this! You know I care about you!" Troy begged.

Sharpay snorted. "Oh, sure. Let's review, shall we? Not only did you lie to me, and sustain that lie for one month straight, but you also invaded my privacy! Yeah, you really care about me, I can tell. And besides, it's not even your job to help me! Leave that to Mrs. Riley or somebody!"

Troy had to laugh at that.

"What's so funny?" Sharpay demanded.

"Sharpay, I've been working with Mrs. Riley this entire time! She said it was more effective if we took an indirect—don't you people have anything better to do than gawk at the fact that a boy is in a shoe store?" he snapped. The girls who were staring at him slunk away, and he turned to Sharpay.

"Like I was saying, she said it would work better if we took an indirect approach."

Sharpay rolled her eyes and lowered her voice. She said, "Yeah, like any approach would work at all. What are you going to do, sabotage Ryan's grades?" Sharpay asked, secretly liking the idea. "You can't change the fact that he's smarter than me, Troy."

Troy didn't say anything. He figured that there was just no point in proving to her that her parents loved her and Ryan equally. He knew she knew it in her heart, but he realized that Sharpay insisted she ignore it. Troy knew he was going to find some way to prove it to her, he just knew it.

Suddenly, Troy decided to switch to Mrs. Riley's original plan. He sighed, turned to Sharpay, and said, "Fine, I won't help you anymore."

"You won't?" Sharpay lit up.

Troy shook his head. "Nope, I won't after all, there's no point, is there?" he asked. "I mean, clearly there's nothing I can do to stop you from feeling what you feel, right?"

Sharpay smiled. "Thank you for understanding," she said.

Troy pursed his lips and nodded. Sharpay thought he left, but he really just snuck around the corner and spied on her.

He could see in her eyes that she was somewhat disappointed. He was satisfied, because that was exactly what he was going for. Now that Sharpay had no one on her case, she was already beginning to miss it. It was like an annoying dog. They take a lot of care, and they yip at you, and they just won't leave you alone. But you learn to tolerate them, and when they die, you miss everything about them, the good and the bad. Troy could tell that that was how Sharpay felt about losing him as a boyfriend. She missed him, because she missed having a boyfriend, but in a sense, she also missed him because she missed him getting on her case. Because he knew that way, way deep down, she really did want help. But she didn't admit it, nor did she really know it.

X-x-x-x-X

It was a last resort, but Troy decided he had to do it. He went to Sharpay's house, and knocked on her mother's office door.

"Come in, Troy! Can I get you anything?" Mrs. Evans asked. She was used to seeing him around her household, because he was always picking Sharpay up for dates, and he sometimes stayed over for dinner.

Troy shook his head. "No, I'm alright," Troy said. "I wanted to talk to you about Sharpay."

Mrs. Evans' face looked grim. "She didn't find out, did she?" she asked worriedly. "I mean, about my latest plan?"

Troy drew a breath. "I told her the truth," he said. "It was the right thing to do."

Mrs. Evans nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it was."

Troy and Mrs. Evans sat there quietly for a few moments. "So, what do we do now?" Troy asked.

Mrs. Evans shook her head and said, "Well, there's not much else we can do except wait it out."

Troy nodded. They were silent for a few moments. Troy had nothing to do for a while, so he asked, "Mrs. Evans, how long has Sharpay…you know, been the way she is?"

Mrs. Evan frowned thoughtfully. "I don't know, actually. I think it was ever since third grade, around March, maybe?"

Troy nodded again. Then, suddenly, he had a flash of memory. He remembered his third grade teacher, Ms. Loren. Ms. Loren was rather tough, and assigned a lot of projects to her students. He had a vague memory that sometime in February or March, she had assigned a book report. It was a free read, but she had everyone make a diorama of the climax scene. Ryan and Sharpay had both chosen to read Magic Tree House books. Ryan chose to read one because he loved the series. Sharpay, he figured, based off of what he'd learned about her, had chosen the book because Ryan chose one, and their teacher praised him, saying it was a good choice for a third-grader. When Sharpay told Ms. Loren what her book choice was, she just smiled and accepted it. Sharpay, having a crush on Troy even at that age, confided in him that she was very determined to have a better project than Ryan. (Believe it or not, Sharpay and Troy were almost mutual friends in third grade, before the whole book report incident.)

Sharpay really did try to make a good diorama, but she came up short. Turns out art wasn't Sharpay's thing. She had lumps of glue, and her clay figures sagged. She got a C-minus for effort, while Ryan, of course, got an A-plus.

That night, Troy went to Sharpay's house for dinner. Throughout the whole meal, the Evans' gave Ryan all their attention, with extra pie and everything. It was almost as if no one but Troy knew Sharpay existed. Ever since then, Sharpay was nastier than ever, and spent a lot of time trying to show her brother up at non-school things, but her parents cared more about how Sharpay did in school that her acting ability.

That pretty much did it for Sharpay. It was almost as if that one incident turned around her entire life. Maybe it had.

"Troy? Troy?" Mrs. Evans said. She looked at the boy standing in front of her, yet in another world. Troy snapped to attention.

He looked at Mrs. Evans and said, "I'm sorry, I have to leave right now. Um, where is Ryan?" Troy asked, looking around.

"Ryan's upstairs in his room, why?" Mrs. Evans inquired.

"I need to talk to him about something," he said simply. Troy rushed to Ryan's room and stepped in the door.

"Can I help you?" Ryan asked, looking at his breathless friend.

"Ryan, do you remember the book report we had to do in March of third grade? We had to make dioramas, and you and Sharpay both read Magic Tree House books," he added.

After a few moments, Ryan nodded slowly. "Yeah, I remember. That was my first A-plus!" He exclaimed, remembering.

"Was Sharpay ever nasty anytime before that?" Troy asked, hoping he didn't sound too weird asking such random questions.

Ryan shrugged. "Gosh, I don't know. I don't think so."

Troy nodded. "Okay, thanks for the help!"

"Okay, 'bye," Ryan said, feeling confused. But Troy had already left.

X-x-x-x-X

When Troy had dinner with his mom and dad that night, he was deep in thought, deciding what he should do next. At first, he thought about calling Ms. Loren, but then he decided that it might be a bit rude. Besides, there really wasn't much that she could do. In the end, he decided to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Evans. They were the only ones who could really help. They didn't know what had been going on, but they were still parents.

A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, although it may not be as long as some of them. Feel free to review, and happy Thanksgiving!!


	9. Chapter 9

Troy decided to put talking to Mr. and Mrs. Evans aside for the moment. He thought he might want to try Mrs. Riley's approach of just not doing anything for a few days and seeing how things played out. This plan was effective immediately.

At the Evans' house, Sharpay was thinking. She decided that Troy was right in trying to help her, and she called to apologize. This was not a sudden decision at all; she had been thinking about it for at least a week. As annoying as Troy was, she missed having a boyfriend very much. And she supposed that finally dealing with her problems would take a big load off her shoulders. It had been a quiet week, and it caused Sharpay to do loads of thinking, mostly about herself. She realized that she really did want her problems solved, but she just didn't believe that anyone could possibly help her. Fortunately, she trusted Troy enough to know that he was able to help her. Troy was no psychologist, but he sure was smart, and he knew a heck of a lot about people.

Of course, Troy had Caller ID, so when she called to apologize, he didn't answer the phone. Sharpay sighed sadly and got ready for her drama club meeting.

Sharpay gasped, horrified. _The drama club! _Without Troy there for her, Ryan, Kelsi, and Todd were completely liable to tell on her to Mrs. Darbus and get her kicked out of the drama club. If she got kicked out of the drama club, she wasn't good for anything. If she weren't good for anything, then she wouldn't be popular. If she wasn't popular, she couldn't sit at the popular table, which was where she sat when she was sick of the drama club. If she didn't sit at the popular table, she'd have to sit with the losers. If she sat with the losers, they would think she was their friend and start following her everywhere. If that happened, she'd be the laughing stock of the whole school. After that, she'd probably have to change her name and hair color, maybe even become Goth.

Ryan snapped Sharpay out of her wild daydream. "Let's go, Sharpay!" She nodded, and followed her brother out the door.

X-x-x-x-X

When they got to the club meeting, Ryan went over to Kelsi and Todd to consolidate. They had really had it with Sharpay's bossiness, and now that her precious bodyguard was gone, they were completely able to kick her out of the drama club. They had to do it right then, though, because since they didn't know exactly why Troy and Sharpay were mad at each other, they thought they would be back together before the next meeting.

"So, do we just run up to Mrs. Darbus the moment she comes through the door?" Todd asked. Ever since Ryan had announced yesterday that they were going to kick Sharpay out of the club, Todd and Kelsi were full on willing to do whatever they could to help. Since Sharpay and Ryan were co-presidents of the drama club, Todd and Kelsi were like wallpaper. They were almost disappointed when they found out how simple Ryan's plan was, until he finally gave in and told them that they could do all of the talking.

Kelsi sighed nervously. "I don't know about this, you guys. I mean, what if Sharpay finds out it was us, and decides to plot against us?"

Ryan and Todd exchanged glances. Kelsi had always been the timid one. Ryan looked her in the eye and said, "Kelsi, Sharpay is my sister. I live across the hall from her, okay? I'll look out for anything suspicious, alright?" Kelsi shrugged, just as Mrs. Darbus walked through the door.

Since Kelsi chickened out at the last minute, Todd ended up doing the talking. "Mrs. Darbus, I am speaking on behalf of the drama club, except Sharpay. Ryan, Kelsi and I want to kick her out of the drama club."

"Oh, no, no, no!" Mrs. Darbus exclaimed, surprised. "I won't have it happen at all! Not only is our drama club very small, but Sharpay is by far my best actress! For what reason could you possibly kick her out?"

Ryan spoke up, much to Todd's dismay. "Well, Mrs. Darbus, Sharpay was threatening us to paint the dressing room ourselves, while she did none of the work. She also commanded Todd to fan her with fig laves and feed her grapes!"

Mrs. Darbus laughed lightheartedly. "Ah, the classic fan-and-grape treatment." When Ryan glared at her, she changed her tone, and said, "Well, I will certainly think about it, I can tell you that!"

By "think about it", she meant that she would get right on it. She called Sharpay over, and Ryan just barely managed to stifle his giggles.

Sharpay knew what was coming. She was eavesdropping on the club members' conversation, anyway.

"Is there something wrong, Mrs. Darbus?" Sharpay asked in a sugary-sweet voice.

Mrs. Darbus responded with a solemn nod. "There is something wrong, actually. Did you really threaten your fellow club members to paint the entire dressing room while you ate grapes and let people fan you with fig leaves?"

Sharpay bit her lip. There was nothing worse than this, she decided. Mrs. Darbus already knew the truth, so the sooner Sharpay admitted it, the sooner she could get out of there.

She looked Mrs. Darbus in the eye and said boldly, "Yeah, I threatened them. So, are you going to kick me out of the club or not?" Sharpay asked, in a rather rebellious tone.

Caught off guard by Sharpay's attitude, she said, "Yeah. Actually, you are."

Emotionless, Sharpay shrugged and strolled out the door.

X-x-x-x-X

Sharpay had to face facts. She was in high school, and in high school, gossip spread quicker than water slipped out of a person's hand. Naturally, she was not allowed to sit at the popular table, or the middle class. Not even the losers would let her sit with them, because they assumed that she would spend the entire hour lecturing them about all the things they could be doing with their lives.

"Well, I suppose it's better than having them follow me around everywhere," Sharpay muttered to herself as she found an empty table to sit at.

Then, she stopped. She saw the Goths sitting at their table. She decided to give them a try, because they were so tuned in to themselves that they never listened to gossip, anyway! Sharpay left her tray on an empty table, and snuck over to the art room to find anything black.

And she hit the jackpot. She found black construction paper and black crepe paper. Using black yarn and glue, she made a very lame, but temporary wig. Then, she headed to the girls' restroom to take off all her makeup and to put on her wig. Then, she took off al her jewelry, and, using a huge roll of crepe paper, she wrapped herself up like a mummy. Not all the way, but it definitely covered most of her clothes. She fastened the crepe paper and looked in the mirror. She thought about springing for a fake nose ring, but figured that was too much. Crossing her fingers, she walked back to the cafeteria. Everyone giggled when they saw her getup. Sharpay just ignored them and walked to their table, stopping for her tray on the way over.

"Hi, can I sit here?" Sharpay asked. She hoped they would say yes, because she really didn't want to sit alone. The only empty table left was next to Troy.

"Whatever," a girl said. Sharpay sat down. She recognized the girl; she was Liz from her math class.

Sharpay found the Goth table rather odd. No one ate, talked, or did anything! It wasn't that different from sitting alone, she decided, but it was better than nothing.

Suddenly, another girl spoke up. "So, why are you here, Sharpay?" Sharpay was surprised that a Goth knew her name. "Did someone, like, die or something?"

At first, Sharpay didn't know what she was talking about, but then she realized that the girl was asking why Sharpay as sitting there. She knew that the Goths would kick her out if they found out why she was sitting there, and she didn't want to get kicked out of two clubs in one week, so she made up a story on the spot.

"Oh, you know. I was orphaned, I've been moving from place to place all the time, life sucks, yadda, yadda, yadda."

The girl nodded, unemotional. "You'll fit in just fine. So, how were your parents killed?"

Sharpay, being the fabulous actress she was, soon picked up the same blank expression and tone that the rest of the girls had. "Well, my mom died of breast cancer when I was four, and my dad died in a helicopter crash just last year." Her own story was depressing her!

"I see," Liz said. "We're all here for different reasons. Sophie was orphaned at birth," she said, gesturing to the girl who asked why Sharpay turned Goth, "Anna's father died when she was one, and she lives with her abusive mother, Ashley lives with her nanny, but since her nanny fled from Mexico and is on the run, she and Ashley live in a homeless shelter. Me? I'm here because people hate me for being stupid, so I have no friends, and even my mom can't stand me! Welcome to the club, Sharpay!"

Liz stuck her hand out for Sharpay to shake. But she refused. She thought about how lucky she really was. At least her parents were alive, and they payed attention to her. Everyone knew that it was better to have over protective parents than ones who didn't care about you at all. Maybe her life wasn't so bad after all.

But as she walked past the drama club table as she threw her trash out, she saw her friends laughing. Suddenly, she wasn't so sure anymore.

A/N: I am really, really, really sorry for the short chapter! But it's just how the layout worked out. :P Review, please!


	10. Chapter 10

Troy decided that Sharpay had gone through enough. He had to get things straightened out, and soon. He decided he would talk with Ryan first. Ryan didn't even understand his sister, and the sooner he fixed that, the better.

"Ryan, why do you hate Sharpay?" Troy asked. He had stopped by Ryan's locker on the way to study hall.

Ryan frowned. "Why do I hate my sister? Well, why do you hate a broken leg? She won't stop getting in my way, not even for a minute! She also always has to show me up, and I hate it!"

"And you don't think that you spend a lot of time showing her up?" Troy questioned him thoughtfully.

Ryan rolled his eyes. "What are you going to do, attempt to prove who started showing up the other?"

"Oh, but I don't have to attempt to. I have the proof right up here," Troy said, tapping his head.

"Okay," Ryan said, crossing his arms. "When do you think my rivalry with my twin began?"

"It began in March of third grade, remember?" Troy said.

"Oh, so that's why you asked me about that the other day!" Ryan exclaimed. "Alright, keep going."

"Well, like I was saying, you and Sharpay both read Magic Tree House books, and then you had to make dioramas on them, remember? But Sharpay's was kind of sloppy, while yours was perfect. My family came over for a barbecue or something that night, and no one but me talked to Sharpay that whole night. After that, Sharpay was just plain mean."

Ryan smirked. "Ah, but that's what you think happened! This is what really happened," Ryan said, beginning his story. "See, Sharpay and I made a bet that I could never make a better project than she did," Ryan said. You could tell he was making this up as he went along. "Of course, it went exactly like The Tortoise and the Hare. She was so sure that she could pull together a project at the last minute that she hardly worked at all! It was her fault she got a D."

Troy stared at him for a few moments. "Ryan, you're a terrible liar."

"So what if I am?" Ryan retorted. "Yeah, I know Sharpay's jealous of my grades. And you know what? I'm jealous of her acting ability, all right? I may share the role of co-president of the drama club, but she's still the better actress."

"Ah, but whose parents give them more attention?" Troy asked.

Ryan thought about that for a moment. "Well, I guess they do give me more attention in general. They may be stage parents, but they're still parents."

"Are you kidding?" Troy was practically shouting. "You—" he began, but was cut off by the bell. He sighed, and the two boys went their separate ways.

X-x-x-x-X

Troy walked into art class. His teacher was late. _Good, _he thought._ That gives me some more thinking time._

Troy thought about several things before his art teacher came. The one thing that was on his mind was the fact that Ryan was jealous of his sister's acting ability. He could tell that he meant it, too. That meant that he was probably really sensitive on the inside—just like Sharpay was. He knew it wasn't really his job to help Ryan be a nicer person, but at the same time, if Ryan were nice, then Sharpay would be. He figured that all he had to do was just get them to talk to each other.

He thought for a moment about how he was supposed to do that. After all, Sharpay still wasn't talking to him. If he was going to get her and Ryan to talk, he needed to do it at the right time.

X-x-x-x-X

Troy sighed as he stepped out of the art room. He had history next, which, quite frankly, he was dreading. He didn't want to have to sit next to Sharpay, and he was pretty sure that Sharpay felt the same way.

They had a substitute in history that day. Needless to say, the class was up to the typical "sub" pranks: adding names to the roster, switching seats, etc. Troy smacked his head, wondering if the kids actually forgot they were in 11th grade.

Since the class was going wild, and nothing was getting done, Troy decided to turn to Sharpay. He looked at her awkwardly.

"Hey, Sharpay!" Troy said. He stared at her black clothes, surprised. He had heard that she was hanging out with the Goths lately, but he hadn't seen her. She was…quite a sight. Her hair was dyed black (though he found out later it was a wig—her parents wouldn't let her actually dye it), a nose ring (also fake, of course), a fancy black dress, and black lipstick. Troy sighed. As much as he hated to admit it, he missed Sharpay's pink girliness.

"'Sup?" Sharpay said coolly. He couldn't tell whether her voice was cold because she was mad at him, or because of her new Gothic personality.

Troy was silent for a moment. "Are the Goths treating you okay?" He thought it was kind of a stupid question, but he didn't know what else to say.

Sharpay shrugged. "They're cool. I hang with them a lot."

Troy noticed an edge to Sharpay's voice. He could tell that she missed her old personality, too.

"How come you hang out with them?" he asked.

Sharpay shrugged again. "Well, you dumped me. Everyone at school knows, except for the Goths, who never pay attention to gossip." Her cold voice was getting hotter now, and she was glaring at Troy.

Troy looked uncomfortable. He took a deep breath, and blurted out: "Sharpay, I did not dump you. You dumped me." Sharpay sighed. It was the truth. Troy went on, "Sharpay, you know I care about you. And the truth is, I really do love you! Like, romantically. Even if I was with you at first to—" Suddenly, Sharpay put her hand on his mouth. Troy realized that the whole class was quiet all of a sudden. Sharpay didn't want Troy to tell to the whole class her personal problems.

Troy blushed slightly, and Sharpay whispered, "I forgive you."

The commotion ended, and class started. As the bell rang and Troy walked out, he felt almost dizzy with relief. Embarrassed, maybe, but relieved.

X-x-x-x-X

After Troy finished eating, he practically bounced into Mrs. Riley's room. He couldn't wait to tell her the good news.

"Well, Sharpay and I are back together," Troy said gleefully.

Mrs. Riley beamed. "Great! So what happened?"

"Well, we talked things over, and she admitted I was right. She said she forgave me," Troy said, careful to leave out the fact that they were talking in the middle of history class.

"That's super, Troy." Mrs. Riley smiled half-heartedly, a little disappointed that he hadn't taken her advice. She said, "So, are you going to work things out with her and Ryan?" she asked.

Troy nodded. "I'll find a way to get them to see eye to eye. I wasn't planning on sitting her down in front of her whole family, though. I know what it's like to have too many people trying to help you with your problems at a time. It can get frustrating," he said solemnly. "Anyway, I talked to Ryan. He's pretty sensitive on the inside, you know, just like Sharpay. I think that maybe they could communicate well if they were alone together, you know?"

Mrs. Riley nodded approvingly. "I like the sound of that. If you believe that that's what's best for Sharpay…well, then I'm all for it!" she said, grinning.

Troy grinned back.

X-x-x-x-X

The next day, the Goths went to Sharpay's house after school. _Crap,_ Sharpay thought. _I forgot to make my room look Goth-like! Well, I can say goodbye to that clique. Oh well, at least I've got Troy again, and the whole school probably knows it by now._

When Liz walked in, she acted blinded from all the pink. She turned to Sharpay, staring. "Why is your room pink?" Liz asked. She looked angry, and Sharpay gulped.

"I hate pink," Anna scowled, and Ashley nodded in agreement.

Sharpay sighed, because she knew they were going to dump her any second. Luckily, or unluckily rather, her mother came in just then.

"Oh, who are your new little friends, Sharpay?" Mrs. Evans asked. Sharpay sighed, but pointed to her friends.

"Their names are Liz, Anna, Ashley, and Sophie," she said bitterly.

"Oh, okay," Sharpay's mother said, looking a little nervous. "Would you guys like any snacks?"

Sharpay turned to the Goths, and they all shook their heads.

"Well, I'll see you guys later. Have fun," she said before leaving.

The moment she shut the door, Sophie glared at Sharpay. Sharpay backed up, because she knew what was coming.

"I thought you said your parents were dead!" Sophie snapped. The three other girls looked at Sharpay, but she couldn't quite figure out the expressions on their faces. Was it jealousy? Hate? Betrayal? All three? She couldn't figure it out.

Suddenly, Liz gasped. "You're not Goth at all, are you?"

_Gosh, someone's slow, _Sharpay thought sullenly.

Ashley cocked her head. "Hey, wait a minute! You look familiar. Wait another minute! You're that girl who broke up with Troy Bolton, aren't you? And didn't you get kicked out of the drama club?"

Liz gave her a disgusted look. Ashley was the only one who kept up with gossip around school. Of all the Goths, she was the one who was the least depressed. And everyone knew that she liked Ryan, so that was probably how she knew what was going on with Sharpay.

Anna just stood there the whole time. She was putting the pieces together. Finally, she said, "It all makes sense now. Why you looked so terrible on the first day you joined our group…why your room is pink…why you were stumbling when you told us why you were Goth. You're not that good of an actress, you know?"

That last comment really bugged Sharpay. "Excuse me? What do you mean, I'm not a good actress? You're probably just jealous, since I bet you have no acting experience whatsoever! And Ashley, Troy broke up with me. So I am depressed, because I lost my boyfriend!" Sharpay said in an overly dramatic voice.

Anna smirked. "See, you are a terrible actress!"

Sharpay rolled her eyes.

Liz cut into the argument. "Sharpay, you lied to us. Therefore, I officially declare you kicked out of our group!"

Sharpay tried to hide her pleasure, and succeeded. She scowled. "Fine. Get out of here. Ashley, stay a minute," she said. The girls left, and Ashley walked over to Sharpay.

She whispered into Ashley's ear, "Ryan likes to have spaghetti and meatballs by the candle light." Ashley grinned, and gave her a thumbs-up. Sharpay smirked as Ashley walked out the door. Ryan never really liked Ashley. He said she creeped him out.

Sharpay ripped off her wig and flopped down on her fluffy pink bed. She was finally rid of those stupid Goths.

X-x-x-x-X

Sharpay knocked on Troy's door the next day. Troy answered it, and was terribly glad to see her wearing pink again.

"Hi, Sharpay!" Troy said. He was happy for two reasons. The first reason was that Sharpay was finally back to normal. The second reason was that he had invited Ryan over, and he hoped that he would finally solve their sibling rivalry once and for all. "Come up to my room, alright?" Sharpay shrugged and followed him upstairs.

She squinted her eyes when she saw Ryan sitting on Troy's bed. It didn't take her long to figure out where this was going. "You set us up!" she exclaimed.

Troy nodded solemnly. "You two aren't leaving this room until you get along, you hear me?" He meant it, and Sharpay and Ryan could see that. He locked the door, and left Sharpay and Ryan standing there.

Ryan, for one, was sort of eager to patch up his relationship with his sister. They were practically like best friends eight years ago. It would have been nice for them to get back to that.

Sharpay, on the other hand, was sort of reluctant some part of her was still kind of distrustful of her brother. She just didn't think that being his friend again would be that easy. But if Troy insisted it was okay, then she supposed it was okay.

Ryan took a deep breath, and began. "Shar, look. There's no doubt that there have been things going on between us, but you know I care about you deep down."

Usually, Sharpay would have wanted to avoid the sappiness, but she also kind of wanted to talk. She sighed. "Ryan, I hate to be rude here, but really. You can't honestly say that the attention our parents give us is equal."

Ryan shrugged admittedly. "Yeah, I think our parents really are unfair. I mean, just the other day, when Mom asked us about our tests, they were both so excited when I told them about my A , and just so…mediocre when you told them about your C ."

There were tears in Sharpay's eyes, but she was glad they were on the same page. She nodded. "Yeah, I know." Her tears were going to spill over any moment, but her voice was steady. "It's my fault, all right? It's my fault for being too lazy to ever study."

"No, it's not _totally_ your fault," Ryan said, and Sharpay smiled through her tears. "It's not very nice of me to brag all the time. But Sharpay, you're so good at acting, and I'm so…not! I just want to be good at something, you know?"

Sharpay was a little surprised by her brother's comment. "What? Ryan, you're a great actor! Okay, I get more awards and stuff, but you still act well, honest!"

Ryan put his arm around his twin. "Well, I could say the same thing to you, Sharpay. You're pretty smart, you know. Everyone's a little lazy. We're both good actors, and we're both good students. We just have different focuses, that's all. I think I should stop bragging so much. It's just not nice."

"Yeah," Sharpay sighed. "And I really ought to stop treating you like my servant and more like my brother."

"So is it a deal?" Ryan asked uncertainly.

Sharpay nodded. "It's a deal. Hey, Ryan?"

"Yeah?"

"I have a couple acting tips that I could give you. Maybe we could work on them sometime," she said a bit shyly.

Ryan nodded eagerly. "That sounds great! I have some mnemonic devices I could teach you, too!"

Sharpay looked at him blankly, and Ryan just sighed. "You know, mnemonic devices. Like this one, for the five Great Lakes: HOMES."

"HOMES?" Sharpay repeated, confused, and Ryan smiled.

"Yes, HOMES. It stands for Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior."

Sharpay smiled. "Wow, that's not so hard!" She exclaimed. "We'll work on the acting exercises sometime this weekend, alright?"

Ryan nodded. "Come on, let's go," he said, and they walked downstairs.

Troy looked up. When he looked up and saw them both smiling and linking arms, he grinned in relief. He couldn't wait to tell Mrs. Riley.

A/N: Okay, it's been almost two months, and no excuses. I'm sorry! But there's the end of the story! Whew! I tried to go easy on the fluff there. :D Review!


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